This invention relates to double-purpose earlobe ornaments usable as stud (i.e. earrings for wearing in pierced earlobe) and earring.
Recently various designs of double-purpose earlobe ornaments that can be used both as a stud and an earring have been proposed. They are complex in structure. The piercing pin, in particular, must be designed to extend in a stable condition from the outer side of the earlobe to the inner side, lying substantially perpendicular to the earlobe-support, when used as a stud, whereas the earlobe-support must be designed to hang down when used as an earring.
FIG. 5(a) shows a double-purpose earlobe ornament on which the Applicant filed a utility model application No. 9318 with the Japanese Patent Office in 1996. This double-purpose earlobe ornament comprises an earlobe-support 1 situated in the upper part of an ornamental piece 7 for contact with the outer side 9 of the earlobe and an earlobe holder elastically pivoted to rotate up and down so as to elastically come in contact with the inner side of the earlobe corresponding to the earlobe-support on the outer side. A slit is provided near the lowest end of the earlobe-support 1 and a piercing pin 3 is rotatably mounted behind the slit. The pin 3 is designed to pass through an earlobe-holder 6 that is turned upright and pierce from the outer side to the inner side of the earlobe on coming in contact with the upper end of the slit, lying at right angles to the earlobe-support 1 (as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 5(a).
Designs of the above type usually use a flat sheet of metal as the earlobe-support 1. When in contact with the outer side 9 of the earlobe, the earlobe-support 1 of this type forms a sharply defined boundary between the area of the earlobe in contact therewith and the area out of contact. This causes intense deformation of the muscle of the earlobe in the vicinity of the point of contact, as shown in FIG. 6(a), that causes discomfort to the wearer.
The object of this invention is to provide double-purpose earlobe ornaments usable as stud and earring without the shortcomings of the conventional designs that cause discomfort to the wearer.